Two Friends On A Perfect Day
by Harmonicalock
Summary: When Natasha first came to America, she was alone except for one person. A look at a day in the life of Natasha Romanov and Clint Barton when they were the most reliant on each other. Could be seen as Pre-Clintasha.


Happy Birthday Alyson! I hope you have a really great day (well, as good as it can be when it starts with a GCSE) and that you like this – this explains all the really weird questions I've been throwing around for the last week!

And massive thanks to Alex for betaing this every time I throw it at you even though we're doing GCSE's (And for coming up with the title because that was killing me)!

Quote of the Title – Two Friends On A Perfect Day – From the song 'For Forever' from Dear Evan Hanson.

...

Natasha woke slowly, drifting back in to consciousness. The second she opened her eyes, she jumped up, taking a moment to reacclimatize herself. Slowly it came to her, she was in America. She was safe. Relaxing slightly, she moved over to the window. The view, while slightly obscured by the dim yellow street lights, was beautiful. A large green space in the middle of the overpopulated city, to her it represented freedom, a display of how good the world could be.

She heard a faint tap from the kitchen on the other side of the door; her flatmate was awake. Natasha suspected the nature of their jobs was the reasons for their strange habits, but she was glad for it, there weren't many people she would have thought would be up at 4 o clock in the morning for a random chat. She gave one last look out the window before going out to join him.

"Morning!" The cheery smile and greeting from Clint Barton would be enough to make anyone's morning. She gave him a smile in return.

"Good morning." She headed over to the cupboards and pulled out the cereal, making herself a bowl. Clint had told her that she should make herself comfortable in his apartment, though she was still not quite used to the sentiment. She sat with it next to Clint on the kitchen worktop, where they ate their breakfasts in silence. Once they had finished and put their bowls in the sink, Clint spoke.

"By the way, I thought we'd do something fun in the city today." She looked up at him, surprised. To the archer, 'something fun' would usually class as shooting things and training; it quickly became apparent that he wasn't one to take breaks and he rarely went out to do something in the city.

"Something fun?" She repeated back to him nervously, hoping for some clarification.

"You'll like it, I promise. Just try to trust me."

"I do." His face lit up. He knew her past, he knew how hard it was for her to trust anyone. The fact that she was able to trust him was clearly not something he was expecting. She smiled at him, a soft, gentle smile that was a rarity for her. She went back in to her room to get ready, not missing the huge smile that was still all over Clint's face.

Less than 10 minutes later, she was back in the living room finishing tying her shoes. Clint was sitting on the arm of the sofa waiting for her, he stood at the same time she did.

"Ready to go?" Clint asked her. She nodded and the pair left the apartment, locking the multiple bolts and locks covering the door. That was another reason that she felt safe there, in the time it would take an intruder to get in, she could have more than prepared herself.

As they walked down the many flights of stairs (Clint had said that the lift hadn't been working since before he moved in and everyone had just accepted it as how it was), a question struck her. "Clint, where on earth could we be going at 6 o clock in the morning?"

Clint looked back at her and chuckled, "You don't miss a thing, do you?" He paused for a moment, holding the door at the bottom of the stairs open for her like the gentleman he pretended he wasn't. "We're going to this place that I like to go to to relax and clear my head, it'll probably do the same for you."

Natasha nodded, like she had said, she trusted him. They walked in comfortable silence, after all, neither of them had exactly been raised with meaningless chit chat being a good thing. They went through a small back gate in to Central Park, the one she had seen from the window. The gate appeared to be barely used, not surprising considering that it lead almost directly in to a dense area of trees and bushes that most people would never venture in to. Well, they weren't most people.

Clint lead them down a barely defined path in the wood, and with what Natasha knew about him she really wasn't surprised. He stopped rather suddenly at a small cluster of branchy trees and looked up at them fondly. With all the smoothness you'd expect from someone who grew up in a circus, he jumped and grabbed on to a branch, pulling himself up and coming to sit on a branch just above her head. He looked down to her, excited.

"I'm assuming you don't need a hand up." Natasha smiled, using her assassin training to bounce up the tree and catch the same branch Clint was on.

Together they climbed, stopping just below the tree's canopy. Clint sat himself on a worn branch, leaning back to lay against the thick trunk of one of the trees. When he spoke, his voice was soft, as though he didn't want to disturb the nature around them.

"Being up here, it reminds me of what life was like before everything. When I was little, my brother and I built a tree house down at the bottom of our garden. We would spend hours in there together, it was always so peaceful. When I came to New York, up here was the first place I had found since then that felt that safe."

Natasha didn't say anything, she didn't need to. She knew how Clint felt, she had spent most of her life feeling like that. She lay back and rested a few of the branches that had weaved themselves closely together. She listened to the birds tweeting around them, and watch the sun slowly appear through the blanket of leaves above.

A while later, what felt like hours and hours and probably had been to, Clint slowly sat up.

"Come on, we're got places to be." She watched her companion swing himself forward with more elegance than she had ever seen – and that was ignoring the fact that they were a good 20 metres off the ground. Clint looked the most relaxed she had ever seen him up in the trees, it seemed to be like his natural habitat.

"You know, I can see why they call you Hawkeye, you're basically a bird." Clint grinned at her, adding an extra swing on the branch for good measure.

They easily clambered back down their tree and out the gate they came through. After walking for a few minutes, down some of the most secluded alleyways that Natasha had ever seen in this country, they were in the busy centre of New York, surrounded by shops and people. She followed Clint in to a large covered area, called malls as she had learnt from tv shows. Looking up at Clint for a conformation on what they were doing, he already knew what she was going to ask.

"I figured you'd need some more clothes at some point, and you should be the one to choose them."

Natasha looked up at her companion, a mixture of surprise and joy on her face. She had never been able to choose her own clothes before, all she had ever had were her practical jumpsuits for missions and the almost rags that had been handed out for daily wear. One look at Clint told her that he knew this and he was trying to make her feel at home with him. She was speechless. Never had anyone been this good to her.

Clint had been right in saying that she needed new clothes though, the only ones she had were the spares SHIELD had given her when she first arrived and Clint made it clear she was staying. Everything was a size too big and the trousers were so long that they trailed past the ends of her toes unless she bunched them up. It was nothing she wasn't used to but that didn't mean they were comfortable.

"And before you say anything, I'm paying for whatever you want, it isn't a problem and you aren't paying me back."

"Clint…"

"Nope, no arguments. I want to do this for you, you deserve a treat. And anyway, I've got more than enough money, SHIELD majorly overpays on the hazard pay, they don't seem to understand that this is all just a regular day in the office for people like us."

She knew better than to argue with him. After all, she reasoned, she could always pay him back when she got herself sorted in this country and didn't have to be so reliant on him for everything. Clint pointed her towards the nearest clothes shop, and they went in, acting like two normal civilian just on a day out.

Natasha was overwhelmed. Yes, she had been in places like this before, but never with the intention of shopping, in fact she was usually in the middle of a chase that took up most of her attention. She meandered up and down the isles for a while, slowly taking in everything around her. She was shocked by the huge range, she imagined that almost every type of clothing that existed in this one shop. She thought back to everything she had seen civilians wearing over the years and began to walk again, this time with an aim. Smiling, she came to a stop by a rack of dark coloured jeans. Clint causally stuck his head up from on the other side of the rack, she knew he'd been tailing her, of course she did, but he was trying to keep an eye on her so she couldn't be annoyed. She flicked through the jeans, eventually finding a couple that looked roughly the right size. Satisfied, she set off towards the other end of the store where she remembered seeing the tops. There was success over there as well, picking out several fitted t shirts in various colours, all dark of course. She caught Clint's eye, from a couple of rows over this time, and nodded towards the dressing rooms. On her way, something caught her eye on the end of a row. She stopped, staring at it for a second. Making up her mind, she leafed through to find her size grabbed it, and continued.

Once in there, she changed quickly and looked at herself in the mirror, pleased with what she had managed to find. She opened the curtain to show Clint, knowing he would be sitting right outside. He looked her up and down before nodding approvingly at her choices.

"You definitely dress like your personality." She looked back at him, wondering what he could mean.

"Badass." Natasha smiled to herself, adjusting the jacket. It was leather, probably fake leather, and for some reason it made her feel powerful and in control. Paired with black skinny jeans and a deep red t shirt, she could see what Clint meant. Reassured that she wasn't breaking any big American fashion rules, she changed back in to her own clothes and Clint pointed her in the direction of underwear and shoes.

Once she had picked up all the clothes she could need, certainly more than she had ever owned before, Clint took them to the checkout and, as promised, paid for all of them. Natasha grimaced at the total, vowing to find some way of paying him back no matter what he said. But now was not the time for that, and they left the shop, Clint almost instantly leading her in to another one, insisting that there was something different in there that she had to look at.

They were there for hours, going in and out of different shops. When Clint finally decided she had enough, she was glad for it, and Clint seemed perfectly happy to move to his next stop.

"Lunch time! And I know just the place, best in the city!" Clint lead them outside and down a couple of streets before he stopped, beaming, at a fast food cart with brightly coloured signs and the strong smell of meat wafting off it. Natasha looked up at him with a raised eyebrow, America was certainly very different to anywhere else she had ever been.

"A cart on the street is 'the best'?" He looked back at her, and she could already tell what his response would be.

"From this place, you bet it is." They reached the front of the line, Clint unsurprisingly taking control of the ordering.

"Two with everything on it please?" He said to the server, who gave him a nod. They moved to the side to wait, Natasha was still sceptical and Clint seemed able to sense it.

"I had my doubts too when Phil first told me to come here, but now I know why he did. It tastes like everything you don't get cooped up in a city like this." They were handed their food, Natasha took a small bite with Clint looking at her expectantly.

"I don't know about best in the city, but this is very good." Clint had been right, though just a burger, it tasted different, and far better than she had expected. Clint gave her a toothy smile, pleased to have been proven right.

"Come on, let's walk and eat. And talk."

"I'm assuming that since you brought it up, you have a planned topic of conversation in mind."

"I was talking to Phil yesterday, he seems to have finally convinced Fury to give you a chance." Natasha stopped in her tracks.

"Really!?" Natasha was shocked, in the single conversation she had had with the director of SHIELD, it had seemed very clear that he didn't think she could be trusted, and that Clint never should have brought her back.

"He had to come round, we are right. It just took him a while to stop being pissed about the fact that you left SHIELD's best agent hanging from the ceiling by his underpants."

Natasha smirked "The man was tailing me, and not very well, what do you expect?"

"I'm pretty sure that was Phil's second argument, the first being that SHIELD needs you. Now Fury may not like it, but it's true and he had to accept that." Natasha's face was unreadable, so Clint continued.

"You start official training with me on Monday, Phil just has a few more forms you need to sign and then you're in." She still couldn't believe it. She had hoped and prayed that she would be able to stay and continue in her line of work but she hadn't been holding out much hope.

"You have no idea how much this means to me. I mean, you do because you're you but still…" She was cut off by Clint pulling her in to a large hug. She didn't fight it, like she would have done if it had been anybody else at any other time, but hugged him back. After a few moments she pulled away, not wanting to risk doing more than she could cope with.

They walked in silence again, giving Natasha time to process the news. It was a few blocks later, when Natasha was just managing to come to terms with what she was being allowed to do, when…

"Oh look, we're right by a cinema! What a surprise!"

Natasha gave him a look to show that she didn't believe him in the slightest, getting a non-committal shrug in return.

"There's a great film on, I'm sure it's your type of thing." Natasha believed him, in the short time she had been here it had become clear that Clint knew her tastes in film, music, and now clothes, far better than she did. She followed him in to the cinema, reassured by how normal it looked. Clint went to buy the tickets while she stood at the side, not wanting to get in the way in the small waiting room. He quickly came over to her, handing her a large cardboard carton of popcorn. She opened her mouth to thank him, but he quickly moved his hand to stop her.

"When you watch a film, you eat popcorn – it's the rule." She had heard that one before, but it still confused her – why should a food be associated with one particular activity? She took the box and the ticket, checking the name of the film. It was called Now You See Me, she assumed something to do with the English idiom, it sounded interesting enough. Clint's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"So, I'm not going to tell you anything about the film, but I bet you that the ending will be a great surprise and you'll love it." She raised her eyebrow, she may not have had much experience with films but from what she did know they were usually blatantly transparent and predictable.

"You really want to bet against me?" Clint looked down at her, a mischievous grin growing on his face.

"Oh, now it's on!" Natasha gave him a nod, accepting his challenge. It was on.

They headed in to the theatre and took their seats for the film to start.

She had to admit, it was impressive. Magic, making the impossible possible, had always been interesting to her, and the film, as promised, was not a disappointment.

She watched contentedly for some time, though when the story moved to the FBI's office, well outside of it really, she sat up a little straighter. There was something off, and it didn't take her long to figure out what it was.

She turned to Clint and whispered softly in his ear, "He's the one who set it all up." Clint's jaw almost dropped to the floor. He moved his mouth a couple of times, clearly attempting to speak, but no sounds came out. Natasha decided to take pity on him and explain.

"It's a very strange and interesting case, everyone would want to take it, even if he was running another one at the time. His refusal would only guarantee that his superiors forced the case on him, and as an agent of his experience he would know that. Nobody cares that strongly about a case unless they have a strong personal connection to it, and he hadn't been told any details before he reacted to it. This means he had to already know what the case was about to want to be involved so strongly, and the only way he could know anything was if he masterminded the whole plan. As the person in charge of what he is supposedly trying to prevent, he would have ample opportunity to derail the investigation and allow his plan to go ahead without any negative involvement from the authorities."

Clint still stared at her gobsmacked. She gave him a smug grin in return, it was her job to read people and deduce their intentions after all, and turned back to face the screen.

A few seconds later, once Clint had finally recovered, she felt a salted piece of popcorn hit her cheek. She smiled softly, that was such a 'Clint' thing for him to do, and turned her attention back to the film.

When the end credits rolled on, she followed Clint out of the dimly lit theatre back to the streets. He turned to her, waiting for her reaction.

"So, what did you think?"

"While the ending wasn't exactly a surprise like you said it would be, it was still very interesting and I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like it." Clint smiled proudly, about to reply when a stifled yawn spread across Natasha's face

"Guess it's home time, it has been a long day" Natasha gave him a look that said he really shouldn't be treating her like a child, but she was too tired to argue. For some reason, the day out had left her far more drained than it should have – she was clearly out of practice going out in to the world

They walked back to Clint's apartment, ignoring the rush hour traffic around them. It didn't take them long to get back, especially following some of Clint's more questionable routes through the city.

As they walked back through the door, Clint switched almost instantly from the protector assassin she knew he could be to the perfect imitation of a normal person living a normal life.

"I'm ordering pizza, you want your usual?" Natasha nodded, one of the few 'normal' things she had known about was her love for pepperoni pizza, having ordered it a few times when she was staking out a target and had actually been left with money. Clint pulled his phone out the pocket and made the call, Natasha pulled her shoes off and sat back on the sofa.

"Wanna watch tv?" Clint flopped on the sofa beside her. After another nod, he picked up the remote and pressed play on the latest episode of Friends they had got up to, after Clint had insisted it was basically all the pre 2000 American history she needed to know. He stretched his legs out and lay back in his usual position. Natasha however, moved closer to him that she had sat before. Taking the lack of response as an okay, she lay her head on his shoulder and cuddled close to her friend, finally feeling able to relax.


End file.
